Fear
by Stealth Dragon
Summary: What once was only a bad dream becomes all too real for Danny. Can he handle it? Isnpired by the episode A Man A Mile. PG though it is a little gross in one part.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: How is CSI like a ferret? I don't own either one, but I like them both.

**Fear**

Danny is forced to live out a nightmare and face his fear. Inspired by the episode A Man A Mile. I know nothingabout explosive devices so please do not nit-pick about it.

Dreaming

The body wasn't going anywhere. It would never go anywhere again. Danny passed his eyes over the body in search of the answers bodies sometimes held. There was the empty inhaler, blood oozing from a crack in the skull and abrasions all over the body caused by falling rocks. The man was a mangled mess.

Danny did not know why he was here. This case had already been solved, it was over, the body shouldn't even be here let alone Danny. Danny looked up then over in the direction of the tunnel entrance where pale sunlight cast a sickly glow on the walls. He had kept seeing the light out of the corner of his eye with the certainty that it would always be there. However, the moment he looked up, the light was gone. All he saw ahead of him was darkness thick as spilled ink, congealing into a wall that seemed palpable and unyielding. When he turned to face the other way, he saw the same. The only light was the one shining down on the body from an unknown source.

" Mac?" Danny called, his breath coming quick. " Aiden, Stella, Dr. Hawkes?"

He did not know why he called all their names. He and Mac were the only ones working the case.

What case? It was over. They had the killer. Why was Danny even here? Where was the light? Where was anything?

The darkness was closing in. The light over the body was fading. The air became thick and stale, impossible to breathe. Danny took several deep breaths trying to capture the remaining oxygen. His heart hammered, his lungs screamed, then the light went out… and Danny woke up.

Tunnel

The universe was not being kind to Danny this day. He could not call it irony, since irony tended to be something one could laugh at later in life. Of course, maybe he would laugh about this later, but at the moment he found it more sickening. It was true; life did tend toward having a cruel sense of humor.

It was not the same tunnel, but it was being created for the same purpose, so it's depth was pretty much the same as well. There was a different foreman, since it was a different crew working in a different area, so no one was familiar. The urgency was the same. Work needed to continue since water was being diverted, so no one was happy.

What was different besides the crew was the tunnel itself and the body found within. It being a new tunnel, it was smaller farther in and continued to shrink until one was forced to duck. The body, very much unlike last time, was the body of a young woman. Or at least that was what Dr. Sheldon told them. The body was three steps away from total decay, with the lower half buried so that moving it would cause it to tear apart. So instead of bringing the body to him, Dr. Sheldon had come to the body.

He was kneeling next to the corpse now, cutting open the outer layer that had once been clothing but now looked more like the skin.

" How do you know it's a she again?" the foreman, a heavy-set New Jersey man named Stan Johnson, asked. He didn't need to be down in the tunnel with them, yet he seemed unable to allow himself to leave. He wasn't as bad as most foremen Danny had encountered. Yes, he wanted things to hurry along, but he at least had the decency to be troubled by the body found nearly buried in his tunnel.

" The remaining hair was kind of a give-away," Dr. Sheldon said, lifting up a few of the left over strands with the tip of the scalpel. " But not a certainty. The purse still strapped to her shoulder confirmed it. I still can't give you a name though. The bag's empty."

He continued cutting the clothing away. The smell was practically stifling, making the air thick as though toxic.

Danny watched for a moment as Dr. Sheldon worked, but his attention kept drifting back up the tunnel where daylight was still visible as a ghostly halo of itself, seemingly on the verge of fading. Danny's gaze then moved up toward the uneven rocky ceiling made slick and glossy with moisture. A shudder ran through him like ice water.

He could not deny his apprehension about being this deep underground, and he doubted he could hide it if he tried. The first time they went down into one of these tunnels, when they had found the body of the workman, Danny had been uneasy but it had been a simple thing to shake off, especially once work got under way. Now, this being the second time, he found it a little less easy to brush aside.

Still, it did not stop him, nor truly distract him from what he needed to be doing. It just took him a moment to pull his attention away from the fact that he was back at where he did not want to be.

He turned his mind back to the body and studying the area around it.

" This body hasn't been here long," Dr. Sheldon said. " It's pretty dry for all this cave moisture. And though you probably shouldn't quote me on this just yet," he carefully lifted the head of the victim to turn it slightly, " it looks as though her neck had been broken. So she wasn't crushed, not like with your last guy."

" Last guy?" Stan said, then perked. " Oh yeah, I heard about that. I'll tell ya this much, and don't take it wrong or anything, but we haven't had any women on our crew for a while now. Not a lot of 'em care to apply. There is Cassy, but she handles paper work and data entry. Plus, she's still alive seeing as how I talked to her fifteen minutes ago. And I may not be a doctor but I doubt anyone can rot in fifteen minutes."

Dr. Sheldon smiled wryly. " Oh, don't be too sure. You'd be surprise what's possible these days. You're right in this ladies case, though. She's been dead for quite a while now."

Danny tilted his head to one side as he regarded the corpse. " I'm thinking a crappy attempt at burial. Someone was trying to hide the body. Actually, get rid of the body." He looked at Stan. " You're planning to widen this tunnel, right?"

Stan twitched his head in a nod. " Yeah, soon as this gets cleared up."

They heard the scrape and crunch of footsteps and looked up to see Mac coming toward them, trailed by another workman. Like Danny and Dr. Sheldon, Mac was wearing CSI standard coveralls, the kind normally used to go through garbage and other dirty aspects of a case. The guy behind him was wearing a heavy bright orange safety jacket with reflective tape, thick jeans, and thick work boots all stained with splatters of mud. He was a broad-shoulder, square-jaw kind of guy with dirty blonde hair and the beginnings of a beard. He looked annoyed as though he would rather be anywhere else in the world than here.

" I contacted Stella," Mac said. " She's bringing people over to help us dig our vic out."

" Sure we can't help?" Stan asked.

" It would be better if no one else handled the corpse except those authorized to. It shouldn't take long."

Stan shrugged, but the man in the orange coat seemed annoyed. He was keeping several feet between himself and the body, but moving about as though trying to get a better look.

" Somethin' you want, Dave?" Stan asked with his own annoyance hinted in the flat tone of his voice. Dave looked over at Stan, startled as though he had not realized Stan was there.

" Um, yeah. Some of the guys wanted to know if this means we can get off early."

Stan's features darkened. " What do you think, Dave? We still got work to do. Someone needs to check those explosives."

" Again?"

" Yeah again. Somehow we ended up with one too many on the last blast. I don't want that happening again."

Stan turned away, ending the conversation. Before Dave left he shot a nasty glare at the foreman's back.

Danny had watched the two exchange words and was certain Dave had more to say but had thought better of it. When compared to the rest of the workers Danny had seen milling about, Dave appeared fairly up tight. His stance had been rigid, and had it not been for the dark look he had given the foremen, Danny would have thought Dave afraid of the boss. It all probably meant nothing. Some guys were more wound up than others. Danny would be too if he had to work everyday under tons of rock, fiddling with explosives.

" I'll head back out," Mac said, " and wait for Stella."

The sudden desire to volunteer to wait topside struck Danny like a blow. The words almost spilled from his mouth without bidding but he checked himself just in time, giving himself a mental berating. The unease he felt was nothing more than an annoying little phobia, and to give into it now would only make things worse, not to mention bring any respect anyone had for him down a notch.

Danny kept his mouth clamped shut and nodded in understanding. But instead of leaving, Mac stood there for a moment, studying Danny's face.

" You all right?" he asked.

" Yeah, why?" Danny replied a little too quickly.

" You look a little pale. Sure you don't want to go up? I can take over down here."

Danny shook his head, trying to maintain his mask of perfect calm. " Nope, I'm fine. Just not used to this yet. No big deal."

Mac continued to stare at him for a moment, then turned and left. Danny turned back to the body and saw Dr. Hawkes looking up at him.

" What?" Danny said, the words coming out more defensive sounding than he had intended.

Sheldon shook his head. " Nothing." Then went back to the body. He had removed the clothes and placed them in a bag. He looked the brown mess of decayed flesh that had once been a body over, shaking his head again.

" I'd really rather deal with this back at the morgue."

Danny lifted one shoulder in a shrug. " Wait then. I don't think she's going anywhere any time soon."

Just then, the crunch of footfalls returned, and Dave emerged from the pale daylight, hurrying toward Stan.

" Um, hey boss? I – um…"

Stan rolled his eyes then turned abruptly on Dave. " What is it Anderson?"

" It's about the explosives – um… I think… there might have been more used in the blast."

Stan started back incredulously. " What? That can't be, this end of the tunnel isn't wide enough. Besides, how would you know? You weren't gone long enough to check anything."

Danny observed Dave closely. The man was clearly agitated, even afraid, and that in turn caused Danny's own nervousness to escalate. His heart that had already been thudding a little too hard suddenly picked up its pace.

Dave had begun talking in low tones, and was even directing Stan away from Danny and Hawkes, deeper into the tunnel so they could not hear. Danny tapped Sheldon on the shoulder and gestured to the two workmen when the doctor looked up.

" I don't like this," Danny said.

Dr. Hawkes shifted his position to look at the two. He then stood, setting his scalpel back into his bag. Both he and Danny slowly approached the two workers, careful not to alert them to their coming. Dave was talking about numbers, feet, and about taking detonator counts yesterday. He was talking fast, so fast even Stan could not comprehend him.

" Dave, slow down, what are you saying?"

Danny, his hands shoved in the pockets of his coveralls, stepped closer.

" Is there something going on we should no about?" he asked, sounding calmer than he felt.

Stan looked at Danny and shrugged. " I don't know. Dave thinks we may have used extra explosives or something for the recent blast. Nothing to worry about."

Dave looked from Stan to Danny, then back to Stan, sweat beading his brow. He was even more agitated now than he had been a moment ago. The way he was acting reminded Danny of suspects trying to explain something without giving too much away. Dave obviously had something urgent on his mind, but he was holding back for some stupid reason.

" We have a problem, Dave?" Danny asked. Dave opened his mouth, still looking from one to the other, but said nothing.

" Spit it out Anderson!" Stan snapped.

" I think…" he began, but before he could finish an ear-cracking sound split the air as though they were standing in the very spot where thunder was created. The four men cringed, covering their ears when the sound hit them like a wave, so strong it could be felt slamming into their bodies. The cave shuddered, the thunder continued, and a great cloud of dust raced toward them.

" Back, everyone back!" Stand shouted. They hurried deeper into the cave as bits of rock and dust rained down around them. The dust cloud drowned out the lights that were sparking and sputtering out. It filled the men's eyes, mouths, and noses until they could not speak let alone breathe.

Then, all at once, the thunder ceased. Dust continued to hang thick in the air, keeping their coughs from echoing off the wall.

" Is everyone okay!" the foreman shouted.

Danny removed his glasses to wipe his eyes. " Hey doc, you still with us?"

Sheldon coughed several times before answering. " So far."

" What happened?" Danny asked next. Instead of responding, Stan hurried back up the cave. All but two of the lights had gone out, and those were further in. Stan clicked on the light of his helmet, only to stop short when he encountered a ceiling-high pile of rubble. He slapped his hand to his head, stumbling back with his mouth gaping. Danny also looked up at the pile with a slack jaw, his heart feeling as though it had nose-dived into his stomach.

" Oh no," Dave whimpered.

Still staring at the newly formed wall, Stan raised his hands. " Now just relax everyone. This is no big deal. This kind of crap isn't unusual, it'll just take a little time for them to dig us out."

Stan removed his radio from his belt and began talking into it. The radio crackled, but a voice responded from the other end.

" We've got four men alive down here," Stan said. " How is it on the other side?"

There was static, and a voice responded though it could not be understood. But it did not matter. Danny heard it all as something distant and unreal. Everything around him seemed suddenly unreal, like what was seen and heard in a dream. Too much like a dream, in fact. After the last case with the man in the tunnel, Danny had spent several nights waking up from the same nightmare of being alone in the tunnel, with no daylight and no way out. The only difference with reality was that he was not alone. Everything else was the same, and suddenly the air became thick and difficult to breathe, the darkness in front of him solid enough to touch...

" Danny. Danny!" he heard a voice hiss from next to him. He snapped his head around, wincing against the light of Dr. Hawkes' helmet. " You all right?"

A part of Danny's mind managed to scramble back into reality. He quickly shoved his trembling hands into his pocket and nodded once.

" Yeah, fine. Just fine."


	2. Blood

****

Top-side

The elevator still climbed in its methodical way toward the daylight now obscured by the thick cloud of rising dust. Mac had his sleeve over his mouth and nose as the cloud rushed past him and the elevator shuddered with ominous creaks and groans. It seemed an eternity before the elevator came to a stop and Mac stumbled quickly out. All around him people were shouting and rushing about. It was chaos, but organized chaos, because this was not something unknown, just feared.

Mac walked straight ahead away from the edge of the tunnel. After fifteen steps he stopped and turned to see the rising dust cloud in full already beginning to settle. Workers were standing away from the edge of the tunnel, staring up in terrified wonder. Several of them had two-way radios to their mouths, talking quickly.

Mac hurried over to the nearest workman with a radio, grabbing his shoulder to get his total attention.

" What's going on, what happened?" he asked. A part of Mac wanted to panic, to run about shouting questions that would get him no answers. But he was well practiced at dismissing such emotions, ignoring them as one would a gnat.

" Unscheduled explosion," the man replied, sounding almost calm though his eyes were wide and frightened. " Wouldn't be the first time this happened."

Mac couldn't believe what he had just heard. " Wouldn't be the first time?"

" I mean it happens. This would actually be the second time in two years for us."

Mac did not know whether to be assured or disturbed. " How would something like this happen?"

The man shrugged, saying something in the radio before talking. " Instability in the cavern structure, an undetonated explosive, something like that… what was that?" He held the radio up to his ear. " Say again? You're kidding."

" What is it?" Mac asked.

" We got the boss on the radio. He's down there, along with three other guys."

Mac's heart started pounding faster. " Is anyone hurt?"

The man shrugged. " Contact isn't clear, but it sounds like they're all alive. Now all we need to worry about is getting them out."

Mac nodded and backed away since he knew well enough that there would be nothing else to learn. Even as the dust continued to clear, workers were already heading down.

Mac watched them and as he did so various thoughts of guilt and doubt crept into his mind: He should have stayed down there. He should be doing something. He should have unburied the body to bring it to Hawkes, instead of calling Hawkes in. He should have insisted Danny go topside. Danny may have been the picture of nonchalance, but he had been unable to hide the lack of color in his face or his overly rigid stance.

These were thoughts Mac could not help thinking, but he did not allow himself to worry over them. Except in the case of Danny. He thought he knew Messer fairly well, but if the young forensics' 'unease' at being underground actually ran deeper than he made it seem, then there was no saying what this might to do him, how he would react. He might panic, or it might affect him mentally, hindering him in his work. Mac could not actually see such things happening. Danny had never seemed the type to give way to panic. But people had a way of surprising even those who thought they knew them in every aspect.

" Hey Mac!"

Mac turned at the sound of Stella's voice. She was walking quickly toward him with Aiden following, dragging a shovel. Both looked about the place in apparent confusion.

" We've got a problem," Mac said. Stella stopped in front of him, but continued to glance around.

" I was getting the feeling. What happened?"

Mac looked over his shoulder. " There was… and unexpected detonation. Something went off," he looked back at Stella. " There's been a cave-in. Danny and Dr. Hawkes are down there."

Aiden dropped the shovel, her jaw going slack. Stella went round-eyed and stiff.

" Well are they okay?" Stella asked.

" They're alive, we know that much. People are already going in."

" Is there anything we can do?" Aiden asked next.

Mac turned to watch has more entered into the tunnel. " Wait."

****

Tunnel

Danny had his hands clenched so tight that his nails bit into his palm. By keeping them clenched in his pockets he was able to restrain them from shaking so much. He kept his head down and his eyes glued to a spot on the floor illuminated by the only working light left. It flickered and buzzed overhead, threatening to fade out, and a large part of him dreaded that it would. But as long as he kept his gaze down, focused on a single point, then it wasn't so bad. He wasn't as aware of the miles of rock hovering over his head as though preparing to drop, or the darkness hovering at the edge of his vision.

The difficult part was trying not to think about any of it. He tried to let his mind wander to other things, but he practically felt the rock around him, almost as though it were shrinking and closing in. He felt stupid, idiotic, and even cowardly, for feeling and thinking all this. Yet no matter how much he argued with himself he could not stop the terror that threatened to flood and choke him. This situation was, after all, a nightmare come true. If the universe had been teasing him by sending him back into the tunnel, it must be laughing its butt off now.

He heard without actually listening the foreman talking into his radio, and the scrape and clomp of Dave's boots as he paced. The sounds were still distant to him like background noise. He was used to background noise. Living in a city, it was always there, always humming or whispering somewhere at his back. But the noises of the city were like old friends to him. He knew the sounds. He could pick them apart if he wanted to, identify each source from the screeching wheels of a car to the higher-pitched screech of a train.

The noise of the tunnel was different, strange, subdued and exact. They were only two sounds that would not stop, coupled with his own breathing that he could not quiet no matter how he tried to breathe. It was grating on his nerves, burrowing into his thoughts, keeping him aware of everything around him. It was making his head throb, and his stomach churn, so he stared at his spot of ground harder, mapping out the shadows and cracks into incoherent shapes.

" Danny."

Danny jerked as though waking, and turned to see Dr. Hawkes standing on his right.

" Yeah?"

" The body's still intact. Although we might have to do a little more digging."

Danny nodded, looking past Hawkes to the darkness hovering like infinity behind him. He looked away, back to the spot on the floor.

" As long as it ain't going anywhere," he replied hoarsely. " Find anything new?"

" Too dark to work." Hawkes flicked his fingers against his helmet. " Even with the light. Hey Danny, you sure you're alright."

" Yeah, I said I was."

Dave's pacing seemed to become louder, faster; almost matching in time with Danny's heart which had yet to cease pounding. Danny's irritation rose, and he looked up to glare at Dave. The man wasn't even looking in his direction to notice. Like Danny, he had his eyes on the floor, but his gaze seemed more focused. He was mouthing something, talking to himself, most likely in an attempt at calming himself.

Then Danny was distracted when Stan walked over to them.

" Okay, I had a long talk with the guys up top. They're checking for any more 'unknown' explosives, then they're going to start in on the debris. It may take a while, especially if the ceiling is unstable. According to one of my guys, these rogue explosives were put where they weren't supposed to be; too close together. They think when they were set up the wire was faulty and that's why they didn't go off until now. No saying what set them off, and I doubt we'll ever no. Some of these detonators can be pretty touchy."

Dave's pacing, if possible, picked up and Danny felt ready to strangle him.

" So," he began, swallowing back his irritation, " nothin' to do but wait, right?"

" Well, we can start in on the debris, see if we can't create a dent in it. Who knows, maybe we might find a weak spot and can dig our way out. If not we can at least try to create a few holes, see if we can't get some better air in here. If you feel a breeze while digging that's when you know you got one, so pay attention. And be careful. Some of these rocks are sharp."

Stan led the way back to the wall of debris. Yet even with all their flashlights the darkness remained thick around them. Danny continued to look at the floor, watching the ground rush past the beam of his flashlight. Their arrival at the mound seemed almost sudden and he started in surprise when his light revealed it.

It wasn't that tall, just three feet higher than he was, but then this was the lesser end of the tunnel. The incline was steep but uneven, providing places to stand so that they could reach the top.

" You know," Hawkes said as he stepped onto some of the larger rocks, positioning himself for an easy dig, " life has a weird way of letting you learn about yourself. Right now, I'd rather be dissecting a body than trying to rip through this stuff."

Danny managed a weak attempt at a smile, though he found nothing humorous in the thought of bodies being dissected. He climbed onto a large slab of rock sticking out of the mound, positioning him perfectly with the top of the mound. He held his flashlight between his teeth, reached out, and began digging. Dirt and small stones spilled over his hands and arms. The top of his arms scraped the edge of the ceiling where the hole had been blasted, and the more he dug the more dirt came pouring out.

It was a monotonous toil, digging when the mound refused to give way. He had to tilt his head back to keep dirt and rock from raining into his mouth. He began to dig faster, trying to outrace the constant stream of dirt and rocks. He tore rocks away from their bedding, sending them clattering down the mound. Soon he was encountering more rocks than he was dirt, groping for them blindly.

He felt the darkness at his back more than saw it. It felt cold to him, though the air was still and heavy. It was all around him, swallowing up the beam of his flashlight, and swallowing him up as well.

He dug faster; clawing at rocks that would not give way. There were so many rocks now, all sharp and jagged. He kept scraping his hands on them, much to his growing annoyance, but he did not stop. He would not. If he stopped now, he would not be able to start again. He did not know why he thought this, but he did. To him, the rocks were in his way. They needed to be moved, and quickly. The air was just too thick to breathe, and he needed more light to see by. If he could just create a small hole, allow in a tiny stream of light, then things wouldn't be so bad.

He focused on digging, imagining the rocks as he felt them, picturing them being ripped away and the tiny hole he was creating deepening. One rock was being stubborn, so he jerked at it, clawed at it until it loosened suddenly. The surprise of the rock giving way caused him to open his mouth and his flashlight to fall and clatter loudly on the floor.

Danny muttered a curse but kept going. He didn't need the flashlight to know what he was doing. He could feel his way through, and he had yet to detect any movement in the air of his small hole. He forced his hand into tight places despite some pain it caused, pulling and loosening rocks. One fell, smashing his finger, and he cursed again. He heard grunts, curses, and harsh breathing all around him; more background noise, but easier to ignore as long as he kept going. Just a little farther, a little faster. It was hard going, though. His hands became slick with sweat, making the rocks hard to grasp. He brought one hand out and wiped it on the sleeve of the other arm. He brought the other arm out and wiped the moisture off on his side. He kept having to do this since the moisture would not stay off. When the rock became too slippery again, he wiped the wetness of his right hand onto his chest, and then his left on his other side twice down the length of his ribcage.

It was endless, this moisture, and his hands ached fiercely, stinging and burning. Just touching the rocks sent pain shooting through his arm, but he ignored it. He could not stop now. The hole was deep; it would not be long before he felt something. He also thought he heard something, far away and muffled, coming from the other side. If he kept going, he might be able to meet up with those clearing the debris on the opposite end. He would be out. He would be freed.

Danny wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, which felt wet and sticky. He felt sick and tired. His breathing came and went heavily, and his hands were shaking again. He realized, fearfully, that he would have no choice to but to stop. He was becoming exhausted.

" Hey Danny," Dr. Hawkes said, his voice breaking into Danny's concentration like a baseball through a window. Danny flinched, but kept digging, clawing, and scraping.

" Yeah?" he said. His voice sounded harsh to him, almost unreal.

" I think I'm getting something. I feel air. How about…"

Dr. Hawke's helmet light nearly blinded Danny. He winced, turning away, but kept pulling at a rock that refused to budge. He found that he could not grip it. It hurt too much to do so and his fingers refused to curl.

" Danny?"

" What?" Danny snapped.

" Look at me man."

Danny turned his head back toward Hawkes, squinting against the blinding light.

" You've got blood on your forehead."

At this, Danny stopped trying to free the rock and froze.

" What?" he asked, wondering hazily if he had heard right. He felt strangely tired; not to mention light headed. His heart quickened, and panic tightened his chest. Was he suffocating? Why did he have blood on him?

" Crap, Danny, you've got blood all over you. What's going on."

Danny swallowed, confusion clouding his brain. He pulled his arms from the hole he had created and looked at his hands by Hawkes' light.

Every inch of his hands was covered in thick blood, extending down to his wrists, soaking his sleeves to the elbow. He looked more closely and saw cuts and gashes all over his palms, his fingers, on the backs of his hands, but more alarmingly, on his wrists, all oozing blood.

Terror finally took hold, overwhelming him, causing his heart to hammer hard enough to break his ribs and his breath to come in short gasps. He stared at the bloody mess without comprehension, wondering how this could have possibly happened.

" What the hell?" He began to descend from the slab he was standing on, trying to move away from the pile as though it had done this to him on purpose. His head swam, and his body felt unnatural to him. He moved slowly, carefully, without touching anything, and still he slipped hitting the floor hard chest-first. He tried to push himself up but his arms trembled until they finally gave way. His flashlight, still on the floor, cast its beam on Danny's left hand, making the blood coating it to shimmer.

He wanted to move away from the light so he did not have to see his hand. He tried again to get up, but the blood on his hands made them slippery and he fell again. Again he tried and again he slipped. Then someone grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. Dr. Hawkes helped Danny to move to the wall, then helped him to sit against it. He then took Danny by both wrists to raise them above Danny's head.

" Danny, listen to me. You need to keep your arms up, above your heart, at all times. It'll help slow the blood." He then moved away, into the darkness, and was only partially visible due to his helmet light.

Danny nodded, shivering all over. Flashlight beams danced over him as Stan and Dave stood off to the side, watching silently.

" What happened?" Dave asked, his voice choked in disgust.

No one responded. But Danny knew good and well what had happened. He had not stopped; he had kept going, even when his hand began to hurt, and even when the rocks were too slippery to hold. This was his fault, his doing, all because he thought he could get out.

He felt warm blood drip onto his face, head, neck, and into his collar to land on his collarbone. He felt it trickle down his arm, all the way to his shoulder. There seemed to be so much of it, or perhaps it was only his imagination, his fear. Either way, it was making him sick, making him scared. It would not stop dripping and running, and he thought he felt some of it trailing down his back.

Tense enough to snap, shaking uncontrollably, he lowered his head onto his upturned knees and gritted his teeth.

" Make it stop," he said in a voice that was barely even a whisper. He clenched his hands, hoping to stifle the bleeding, only to have blood ooze between his fingers.

" Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop…" over and over, speaking so only he could hear. He felt dizzy, he felt tired, but terror kept him awake.

" Hang on Danny," Dr. Hawkes said. Danny lifted his head to see the doctor wrapping something tightly about his hands and wrists. It wasn't gauze but a cloth like a handkerchief or bandanna that had been torn in two. It was plain and white, but already being stained by Danny's blood. He looked at Dr. Hawkes questioningly, but Dr. Hawks was looking at Danny's hands with an expression of discomfort on his face.

" Sorry Danny," he said. " I wanted to go for something cleaner but this was all I had." When he finished, he looked it over unhappily. " I don't know if this will be enough."

" Here," Stan said, " use mine. It's pretty clean, I've yet to use it."

The foreman pulled out his own cloth, a real bandanna. Hawkes took it and ripped it in two then wrapped it around Danny's wrists. When he finished, he took Danny's right hand, placing it on his left wrist and forcing his stiff fingers to wrap around.

" Danny, I need you to hold onto both your wrists like this. Hold 'em tight, got it? Hold them until you can feel your own pulse, but don't let your hands go numb. And remember, keep your arms raised above heart level."

Danny gripped his own wrists tight as his stiff and pain-filled fingers would allow. He then rested his elbows on his knees, keeping his arms vertical.

" Sure thing doc," he said in a strangely calm, flat voice, though he could not stop shaking, and felt sick enough to vomit. Thankfully, he did not have the energy to do so.


	3. Phobias

Sleep? How could Danny even consider thinking about sleep? The irony of resting deep under the ground, buried alive, was sickening. It was a joke – a cruel, twisted joke – that he should be slowly bleeding his life away and now wanting to sleep and allow the darkness to eat him alive. It felt to him that if he slept then the tunnel would win, it would have him, which probably wasn't far from the truth.

Yet, all the same, he felt tired enough to sleep even here and now, no matter how afraid it made him. His head swam and throbbed in time with his heart, and his body shook as though on the verge of collapsing. He felt cold all over, and his arms hurt so bad a part of him wished they would just fall off, which wasn't helping him in his fight against his own panic. He knew he was in a bad way, but he wasn't going to give in and… do what? Freak out? Go insane? Wasn't that why he was dripping blood now, because he had panicked?

Danny shook his head. He felt so angry with himself that he was actually glad he was in pain. It served him right. It was stupid, his fear. He dealt with death practically every day. He had seen the many possible ways a person can be killed – horrible, grotesque ways – and he had yet to look away from any of them. He had been in fights that had nearly killed him, he'd been shot at on more than one occasion, and he had yet to even consider turning his back on it all.

Now, sitting and bleeding in this tunnel, cowering against the wall like a kicked dog, he felt like a failure. So much for the tough, fearless Danny who never put up with anything. So much for never flinching.

Dave was pacing again, taking longer, wider strides. The noise seemed to burrow into Danny's brain, racing down his spine to rend at every nerve. He wanted Dave to stop, to let the silence just happen so that Danny did not have to be aware of anything, but he did not have the energy to speak out.

Light suddenly blinded him and he jerked his head to one side angrily.

Dr. Hawkes tilted his helmet back so that the light stopped hitting Danny in the eyes.

" Sorry," he said sheepishly. Danny just shook his head, though irritation still raged inside him.

Dr. Hawkes looked the crude, blood-soaked bandages over. Danny turned his head back to watch him, and did not like the worry that was overly apparent on the coroner's face. Hawkes felt the bandages, and his fingers came away wet with blood. He wiped the blood off on the sleeve of his coverall, then shifted his position to sit beside Danny where he felt Danny's pulse in the side of his neck.

" That bad doc?" Danny said, fear overriding his agitation.

" Well, it can't be that bad if you're still alert. Your pulse has slowed, but not in any bad way. The last time I checked it, it was racing. You've clamed down now."

Danny shrugged. " I'm tired, that's all. Stress does that."

Hawkes grimaced. " Danny, I'm going to level with you. In you're current situation, being tired is not a good thing."

Danny shrugged again. " Figured as much. I won't fall asleep Doc, I promise."

" Well, on the plus side, the bleeding must have slowed. You stopped dripping."

Danny managed a small smile. " You make me sound like a leaking pipe or something."

Danny looked at his arms still resting vertically on his knees. The bandages were so soaked that there was no way they would ever be their original color again. It made him nauseous to look at them, so he turned his head away and toward the ground to stare at Dr. Hawkes' boots.

" Listen Doc… I didn't mean… I'm sorry," he said.

" For what?"

" For being an idiot. I – I was freakin' out back there at the cave-in, when I was digging. I wasn't paying attention. My hands started hurting and I kept going. Being here… it's making me stupid, you know? I never liked being down here even when it was safe. I know I'm not handling it real well, and it's only making things worse. I'm usually not like this. I've never been the kind to just… up and panic about something stupid like this."

Hawkes chuckled softly and patted Danny's shoulder.

" Danny, you're not stupid just because you're afraid of being underground. It's just a phobia, everyone has them. Some, like yours, are legitimate. There's danger to being underground, we," he gestured toward the blockage, " kind of know that now. Some you kind of have to wonder about. Take my aunt on my mom's side for example. She has an absolute, petrifying fear of rabbits. Rabbits! I mean I can understand a little kid being afraid of a rabbit if they've never seen one before. But for a grown woman to almost faint at the sight of a baby bunny…" he chuckled again, shaking his head, and even Danny could not help a grin.

" But you know," Hawkes continued, " she probably has a reason she's afraid of them, she just never talks about it. We're all afraid of something Danny. We all panic over something, doesn't matter if it's large or small. We all have something we can't quite handle."

Danny looked over at Hawkes. " What's yours?"

Hawkes sucked in a breath through his teeth. " Danny, if it were any other situation, I'd probably make something up. But, if it helps… I'm not that fond of clowns."

Danny raised an eyebrow, suddenly intrigued. " Clowns? Really? You panic around clowns?"

" Well, not really panic. I did once when I was a kid, but that clown was pretty creepy and had a problem with getting in your face and not backing off. Then I had to go and read that Stephen King book that didn't help any. You remember that one case with that clown… Bonkers or whatever he called himself?"

" The hit and run? Yeah. Couldn't tell the blood from the make up."

" Yeah, well, you weren't there, but at the time I couldn't remove the make up since Mac would still be needing it. So I had to cover old Bonker's face with a towel. I could not, in any way, look at him. Every time I did it sent ice down my spine, let me tell you. It's not a fear I really like to admit, even to myself. But I have to when faced with it. Clowns are scary. But you know, I think I handle them pretty well. I covered the guy's face rather than run, which some people will do. Danny, right now your fear is coming true, and I know you don't think too highly of yourself right now but I think you're handling it fairly well."

Danny furrowed his brow and jerked his head at his arms. " You call this handling it well?"

Hawkes shrugged. " Your not huddled in a corner mumbling and shaking. You stopped digging." He pointed at Dave, whose pacing circle had widened. " You're not acting like a caged tiger ready bust out and rip people's heads off. You talk about real panic? To me what he's doing is real panic. It's not the feeling of fear but giving into it. You can't help what your feeling Danny. You can't help your fear, especially right now. It doesn't make you an idiot, it just makes you human."

Danny nodded. " I know. But you gotta admit, cutting myself up like this wasn't too bright."

" Fear does weird things. I'll admit this one too. I almost panicked when I saw your arms. I cut open dead bodies all the time, but for some reason seeing that much blood on a living person, not to mention I person I know and work with, actually made me sick. And I don't get sick like that. But that… yeah, that was pretty scary, not to mention strange. It kind of reminded me of one of those crappy horror movies where some guy sticks his arm in a hole only to get it ripped off by some monster." Hawkes laughed. " For a moment, I actually thought that was what happened."

Danny, still grinning, shook his head. " You've got a morbid mind, Doc."

" Yeah, I got to lay off those flicks… and books. Listen Danny; I want to see if I can't dig that body out myself. Chances are once the rubble gets cleared we might not have a chance to get the body out."

Danny nodded in agreement. " Just take it slow, doc," he said, lifting his arms a little. Hawkes patted Danny's shoulder again, then rose stiffly and headed into the darkness toward the vic. The doctor's flashlight and helmet light sliced through the darkness, shining this way and that. Danny watched the lights, strangely mesmerized by them and the way they seemed to challenge the thicker blackness around them.

Suddenly, the constant footfalls and scrapes of Dave's pacing ceased. Danny's gaze shot over to the workman, and the fear of something being wrong crept back into his mind.

Dave was standing perfectly still, staring in the direction Hawkes had gone. His face was like stone, hard and unwavering, and anger appeared to smolder in his eyes.

" Can't we cover that body up or something? Bury it already?" he mumbled, and resumed his pacing.

" Why?' Danny asked. " You can't see it unless you're right there."

Dave shot Danny a withering look. " The smell's getting to me."

Danny leaned his head back to rest it on the wall. " Doesn't smell that bad to me." But, then again, he had probably grown accustomed to such smells since becoming a CSI.

Danny eased up his hold on his wrists, allowing blood to flow into his hands and alleviate the numbness, though he found being numb preferable to the pain. He winced as he moved his stiffened fingers, gritting his teeth until the sharp pain abated.

Dave resumed his pacing. " This is bull," he said darkly. " We should be trying to dig our own way out."

" Without the proper equipment?" Stand asked from across the tunnel where he leaned with his shoulder to the wall. He gestured toward Danny. " I would think it kind of obvious, Anderson, that that wouldn't be a good idea."

Dave, still pacing, held up his gloved hands. " These equipment enough boss?"

Stan pushed off from the wall to stand straighter. " Not really Anderson. Why don't you go sit down somewhere and relax before you bust an artery or something. You're getting on my nerves. We haven't been here that long, only two hours. They're probably clearing the debris out now. It's not like we're trapped down here forever."

Dave stopped suddenly and turned abruptly toward Stan. " Then why don't I hear anything? Why don't I hear anyone working?"

" Because the debris wall is too thick to hear anything right now. Look, I just talked to someone not that long ago, and they said they were on it. Johnson thinks that two explosives may have gone off, which would make the mound thicker. Supposedly, two of the detonators for the next explosion aren't accounted for, just as I assumed. It's just going to take some time is all."

Danny creased his brow thoughtfully at the foreman's words. " Why would two explosives be missing? Does that happen a lot?"

Stan looked over at Danny. " Sometimes an extra explosive will be set up. Two's a rarity. Sometimes there's a miscount, or we get impatient and decide to add an extra if we think the structure of the cave can handle it, then forget we did it."

" But you usually don't have problems with explosives not going off, right?"

" It happens," Stan replied. " But if it does we usually know about it."

" Sounds like you didn't know about these two that went off."

Stan opened his mouth, about to respond, then clapped it shut. " What're you getting at?" he finally asked.

" Why wouldn't they go off when they're supposed to, but then go off at some other time?"

Stan shrugged. " Faulty set up, faulty wiring. A number of things. Doesn't take much to set them off later. It's only a matter of when, not really how."

Danny looked over at the lights belonging to doctor Hawkes. After listening in to Stan and Dave's conversation, several thoughts suddenly came to him. There was a body in a tunnel, half buried, and unaccounted for explosives.

" You know," Danny said, speaking out loud. " I've worked a lot of cases where people try to bury the body as deep as they can, hoping it buried too deep so it can never be found again. But you know what? They always get found, not exactly right away, but eventually. Something always gives. Doesn't matter how deep you dig, bodies have a way of coming back up. But this tunnel, it's pretty deep, and those explosives pretty powerful. If you positioned them just right, not only would you bury the body, you would destroy it in a way that anyone digging wouldn't recognize it for what it was. They would think it just a bunch of weird rocks."

Stan placed his hands into his pockets and shifted his gaze up the tunnel in the direction of the debris. " Well, I'm not one to jump to assumptions or anything, but you're killer doesn't seem too bright. You'd have to have the explosives by the body, not on top of the ceiling. Or at least move the body so it was underneath."

Danny was thinking that over even now. " Maybe he didn't have time. Maybe he miscalculated after trying to hide the body in the dirt, and ran out of time trying to uncover it. I don't think he would want to place those explosives other than where they're supposed to be. Someone might have noticed. Naw, he knew what he was doing. Something must have gone wrong. He would have had to bring the body here at night. You got security here, don't you?"

Stan nodded. " Keeps out the crazy kids who like to throw stuff in the tunnel."

" Security probably spooked him off before he could finish. Then your guys found it. I think your bombs were stolen for once."

Dave snorted out a derisive laugh. " Why you talking about this crap now? We're trapped down here, buried just like your corpse over there. We should be digging our way out, not solving some stupid murder. You're killers probably miles away by now. Hell, he's probably laughing at you while watching all this on the news or something. I know thinking about killers and crimes probably helps you relax, but it isn't helping anyone else right now."

Stan cocked his head to one side. " I don't know, Anderson. You seem to be the only one bothered by it. If the man wants to solve a crime while he waits then let him. Better than pacing a hole in the floor."

Dave shook his head, then looked once again to where the body lay hidden in the darkness. Danny took that moment to observe Dave more closely. He still wore an angry, uncomfortable expression, and his stance was rigid.

" It's just a body, Dave," Danny said. " It's not gonna just jump up and attack you or anything."

Dave looked at Danny, his features shadowed and his eyes pouring out his annoyance.

" This coming from a guy who nearly tore himself to pieces trying to dig his way out?"

Dave had him there, and Danny could not help momentarily looking away to fight back the shame of it. He then looked back up at Dave, trying to maintain understanding.

" I'm just saying is all. It's just a body."

" Yeah?" Dave spat. " Well it stinks, and it's making me sick. I say just bury the stupid thing, just until we're out, then unbury it."

Danny sighed, feeling wearier than he had been a moment ago. Now, more than ever, all he wanted to do was sleep. He shook his head to clear it.

" Kind of counterproductive Dave. We're trying to get the body out so you and your coworkers don't have to look at it any more, or smell it. Put something over your nose if you can't handle the smell. I'm pretty sure the doc as got some Vix in his kit. You put that above your lip and you won't even know that body's here any more."

Dave turned away to stare back into the darkness where the body lay. There was so much anger, agitation, and fear mingling in the man's eyes that it was making Danny begin to wonder.

" Dr. Hawkes is trying to get the body out," he said after a moment of thought.

" You really want to screw that up? You'd have to help him, you know. I can't really move right now, so you'd have to help him bury the body. You might have to touch it, move it around to get the dirt over it…"

" Hey," Dave snapped. " As long as it's out of sight."

Now Danny had even more to wonder on. He had hoped that by talking this way it might cause Dave to blanche and back down from his idea. Perhaps it was the smell that was getting to him, and the confinement, but it still made Danny ponder. After all, it was the body that was getting to Dave more than being enclosed.

" I wasn't giving you permission to bury the body," Danny said, " just so you know."

Dave remained still and staring in the direction of the corpse. It was an intent stare, as though he could see the body in full, every inch of it. It was making Danny nervous. Dave was afraid of something, but it was becoming less important as to what he was afraid of, only as to how he would act. Danny had almost killed himself trying to dig his way free, and he had been trying to maintain his control. Dave was giving way to his fear, if he had not already.

" Anderson," Stan said with apparent frustration, " go sit down some where and stop talking like a moron. I'll talk to the guys upstairs, see what's going on."

Stan moved up the cave toward the debris where reception would be clearer. The radio crackled to life and Stan spoke into it.

Dave seemed not to have noticed Stan's words. The feeling that Dave might try something stupid increased, and Danny needed to make sure that didn't happen.

He had brought his gun, though Mac had said he probably wouldn't need it. There had been no place to keep it with the coveralls on, so he had put it in his kit, which he had set by the body. That means Danny would have to get up, he would have to move, and he didn't know if he had the strength.

Suddenly, Dave began to move, walking slowly forward. Alarmed, Danny scrambled to his feet, pressing his back against the rough wall for support. Overwhelming dizziness flooded over him, and darkness flecked with starts passed over his vision. He shook his head, trying to clear it, then pushed off from the wall to lurch forward and stand unsteadily in front of Dave.

" Where do you think you're going?" he asked, sounding more confident than he felt.

Dave looked at him with loathing. " To talk to my boss. Got a problem with that?"

He shoved passed Danny and Danny was amazed to find himself still standing. He continued on, stumbling toward Hawkes and the corpse like a drunk. He kept his head down and all his concentration on keeping his feet moving, holding his arms out to feel for the wall when it came. When his hands finally touched the cold, uneven surface, he turned and pressed his back to it, gently lowering himself into sitting.

He was right next to the body with Hawkes kneeling on the other side, looking at Danny in alarm. Danny reached out for his kit, opening it and taking out his gun.

" Something wrong?" Hawkes asked with a slight tone of unease. Danny looked back over at where Dave was standing by his boss, though looking in their direction.

" I don't know yet."

Hawkes pointed at Danny's arms. " Above heart level?"

Danny placed the gun at his side and lifted his elbows back onto his upturned knees. Being closer to the body made the smell almost unbearable. But for Danny, it was a simple thing to ignore. His mind was still on the tons of rock surrounding him, and now on watching Dave, and waiting.


	4. The Light

Dr. Hawkes was quiet about his digging, because he was being careful. Danny glanced at him on occasion, wishing he could help since it would go a lot faster. The blockage could be broken through at any time, and when that happened they would be evacuated and denied any more time to remove the body. They could hear sounds now, muffled and distant, but growing in a gradual way. It was background noise Danny found comfort in, and clung to it, listening carefully to it to remind himself every second that this burial was not permanent.

Dr. Hawkes' own digging was methodical, in which he would push dirt away into a pile on the side, pausing to sift through the dirt that had been touching the body. He would look up occasionally over to where Dave was now pacing, slightly closer to the body than he had been moments before.

" What do you think he'll do if he tries anything?" Sheldon asked in a whisper.

Danny could only shake his head in reply. It would be dumb if he tried anything, but Danny still held to the belief that fear had a way of making people less than bright. Danny had his gun, but he did not want to use it. He did not want fear clogging his own judgement and causing something that he would later regret. He was not only tired and aching, now he was also exceedingly thirsty. There was also hunger, but hunger he could ignore like an afterthought. The thirst insisted on having a stronger presence, and it was turning the throb in his head into full-on cracking pain.

Danny moved his head around, stretching his neck until the vertebrae popped, momentarily dulling the pain in his head. He listened more carefully to the sounds beyond the blockage, picking out voices from the hum that must have been machinery, but he could not be certain. Neither did he care. He just wanted them to hurry and break down the wall to let the light spill through. He wanted to destroy that wall that separated them from fresh air and open skies. That wall was an enemy, a murderer. It needed to be destroyed.

Danny was suddenly overcome by the feeling that he was falling, and he snapped his head up, blinking in confusion. He realized that he had been nodding off, and the thoughts that had been going through his mind sounded suddenly ridiculous to him.

" Hey Danny," Dr. Hawkes said in a tone that carried excitement. Danny looked over at the doctor wearily.

" Yeah?"

" I think I can move the body now."

Hawkes continued to push more dirt aside, then paused and began pulling on the lower half of the corpse. The body moved, just a few inches. Hawkes removed more dirt and tried again. Soon, the body slipped free, inch by inch.

" I'll move this so it doesn't get smashed if rocks start falling."

Danny readied himself to stand. " I'll help."

Hawkes shook his head. " Better not. You might fall and be the one to crush it. I can handle it."

Dr. Hawkes remained crouched as he moved to the head of the corpse, taking it by the arms and dragging it slowly back toward the one remaining light of the cave.

Danny watched him for a moment, then remembered Dave. He looked over at the workman to see him standing still as stone, except for his eyes that followed Dr. Hawkes' procession.

Danny didn't like the look he was seeing on Dave's Face. It was dark, full of too much anger, and almost animal. It made Danny nervous, so he picked up his gun and using the wall as support hauled himself slowly to his feet. He stuck the gun in his pocket, then kept one hand on the wall as he slowly followed Hawkes down the tunnel.

" Danny," Hawkes said when he finally looked up. " I don't think you should be doing that."

Danny shook his head. " I'm fine, doc. I just don't want to be near all those rocks if they start coming down."

Danny looked over his shoulder. He saw Dave still watching them, and still wearing a dangerous visage. Stan noticed nothing going on, as he was busy talking on the radio, facing the blockage and walking aimlessly about.

Danny's head swam, and darkness passed in front of his vision again. He swayed, stumbling, but caught himself before he fell. He paused a moment to catch his breath and let his head clear.

" Danny!" Hawkes hissed. Danny looked over at Hawkes. The doctor had stopped moving and was now staring passed Danny. He jerked his chin toward him, so Danny turned to see Dave coming toward them, moving fast and purposeful.

Danny's fogged, weary brain could not comprehend the situation clearly, and fear was given freedom. Danny whipped out his gun, turning himself enough to train it on Dave. Dave stopped abruptly and slowly raised his hands, one of which was clutching his flashlight, though the light was not on.

" Woe, hey man…" Dave said, fear filling his eyes. " I was just… I just wanted to see where you were taking it. You know, so I don't find it on accident or anything?" he said with a nervous, weak attempt at a laugh.

Danny's hand was shaking as he held the gun, and he doubted he could hold it up for long.

Stan finally looked over at what was happening and nearly dropped his radio.

" Hey! What the crap! What's going on?"

" Danny?" Hawkes said. Danny did not dare look away to look at him. " You all right man?"

Danny knew how this must look. Pale, weak, shaking, barely able to stand; they probably thought he was being delirious, acting out in panic. But he knew what he was doing. He knew exactly. Slowly, without taking his eyes off Dave, he lowered the gun. He then lowered himself to the floor when the darkness passed before his eyes again. He turned his back to the wall, but kept his gaze glued to Dave and his gun in his hand.

" Let me ask you something, Dave," Danny said, not bothering to raise his arms above heart-level. " Why didn't you just leave the body where it was?"

Dave's brow creased in confusion. " What?" he asked with another nervous, weak laugh.

" You're lady friend, Dave. Why didn't you just leave her where you put her? Why'd you bring her down here? Why didn't you just toss her in a river or dump her to be buried in a trash heap? Why'd you have to bring her to the very place you work? Because of the explosives? Thought it'd be easier just to blow her up and bury her under rock? Well guess what Dave. You're the one who got buried."

Dave laughed again, looking from Danny, to Hawkes, then Stan, as though silently asking the two men what Danny was talking about. He looked back at Danny, shaking his head.

" You're nuts, man. All that blood loss must be making you lose it or something."

Danny lowered his head to stretch the muscles of his neck, then rubbed the back of his neck with the now dry bandages scratching his skin.

Danny knew what he was doing, what he was saying. For the first time since the ceiling collapsed he was actually thinking with a straight mind, with all his focus, because he suddenly knew what it was Dave was so afraid of.

" Tell you what, Dave. You answer me this one question, and I'll let her be buried. I'll get her out of your sights, away from you, just like you wanted."

A muscle twitched in Dave's clamped jaw. His eyes were no longer on Danny but on the half-decayed corpse. He stared at it without expression, his eyes wide and empty.

" Just tell me why she had to die?" Danny asked again. " Then you won't have to see her any more."

Dave said nothing for the longest time. He appeared unable to look away from the body Hawkes was crouched over. Then, Dave's features began to twist. Anger blaze in his eyes, full of hate and disgust.

" Because she wouldn't love me," he spat between clenched teeth. Dave clenched his fists so tight that his knuckles went pure white. Danny gripped his gun at the ready. Dave took three furious steps toward the corpse, and Danny raised his gun.

" Back off Dave."

Dave whirled around to face Danny, jabbing a finger at the body. " You said I could bury her!" He practically shrieked. " I want her gone! I want her out of my sights! She's a lying whore! She loved everyone – everyone! – except me. I loved her like no one would, and she turned her back on me, accused me of hurting her. But I would never hurt her! Never!"

Danny let out a weary sigh. Crime of passion, as he had guessed. The one thing he always despised most about these kinds of deaths was the denial the killer always spouted. It was always the same speech about love, devotion, and how they would never hurt the one they loved.

Danny lifted his other hand to point at the body. " What the hell do you call that then?"

Dave, shaking with rage, averted his gaze to the floor. Danny switched his gun into his other hand, then set it on the floor and slid it to Hawkes.

" Keep him away from the body," Danny said, looking over at Hawkes. The doctor picked up the gun and pointed it at Dave, nodding. Danny then hauled himself back to his feet and made his slow way to his kit. He carefully knelt to the floor, then reached inside and pulled out a pair of cuffs.

" Hey Stan, put these on him," he said, then tossed the cuffs to Stan as he approached.

Dave looked over at Danny. Had he the chance, he probably would have killed Danny. But Stan pulled Dave's hands behind his back and placed the cuffs on with a resounding click.

" Shouldn't you be reading me my rights?" Dave asked. Danny draped his arms over his knees and shook his head.

" I just don't want you trying anything. You have the right to pace all you want, though."

As though to spite Danny's words, he moved to the other side of the tunnel, turned his back to the wall, and sat roughly down.

" You said you would bury her," he muttered.

" Yeah, but I didn't say when," Danny replied.

Danny wanted to laugh; though he did not know why. Dave's anger seemed comical to him. The whole situation seemed suddenly something to laugh about; the murderer buried with the victim, investigators stuck with the suspect, and everything revealing itself in a moment. It was as though the universe had had its fun, and decided to give Danny a little something for the trouble.

Danny lowered his head to hide his smile, and allowed himself a small, quiet chuckle. He knew he shouldn't since it was not really humorous, but he could not help himself now. It was all too strange to do other wise.

Danny did not hear Dr. Hawkes approach, but felt when he tapped him once on the shoulder with the back of his hand.

" Hey, man," Hawkes said, sitting beside Danny. Danny looked over at Hawkes, no longer laughing but still grinning.

Hawkes looked him over curiously. " I'm not even going to ask if you're all right. What I will ask is how you figured it out. How did you know Dave over there was our guy?"

Danny wanted to laugh again, but this time he knew the reason for it. " I didn't. I guessed."

Hawkes widened his eyes. " Guessed?"

" Yeah, guessed. He was acting a little too interested in our vic, and I thought what the hell, I'll give it a shot. Not much harm in trying, and it gave me something to do."

Hawkes shook his head in disbelief. " Man, if we don't get out of here soon, you'll probably have us all confessing to something."

" You already confessed about being afraid of clowns."

Now it was Hawkes who was laughing. " I have to hand it to you Danny, you do a good job, even when you seem messed up in the head."

****

Light

Danny must have fallen asleep, because when he next felt Dr. Hawkes tapping him on the shoulder, he woke up with a start to be nearly blinded by lights brighter than Hawkes' flashlight and helmet.

" Hey Danny. Danny! You better not have fallen asleep," Hawkes said laughingly. Danny lifted his bloody and bandaged hand against the glaring light stabbing into his eyes.

" Little late for that," he groaned. Hawkes laughed again.

" Come on, man, get up. Time to get out of here."

Everything around Danny was hazed and dreamlike. Hawkes helped him to his feet then guided him up the tunnel toward where the blockage had been. The blinding lights were spilling out from the other side through a gaping hole at the top. People were gathered around the hole silhouetted against the lights behind them. Someone stepped through and assisted Hawkes in helping Danny to get through the debris and out the other side.

The change in the air, and the sight of the tunnel opening into a starry sky, struck Danny with such sudden relief that his legs nearly gave out. It was like when he awoke from the nightmare the first time and seeing it wasn't real. This, however, was far better, because it meant that it was over.

He looked back over his shoulder to see Dave stepping out, followed by Stan.

" What about the body?" Danny asked.

" It'll come," Hawkes said. " I already told them. A stretcher and a bag's going to be sent down."

They went onto the elevator, and slowly rose up to the top. Danny looked down to watch the tunnel slowly shrink away, then looked up to see the sky open up wider and wider the closer they got. Then he looked ahead as they rose passed the edge of the entrance. The first thing he noticed was Mac, Stella, and Aiden clustered nearby in tense wait. When the elevator came into sight, they hurried over, but slowed when they saw Danny in full stepping from the elevator.

" What happened?" Mac asked, looking Danny over.

Danny smiled, abashed. " Don't ask."

Mac looked to Hawkes for an answer, then past Hawkes at the man in the handcuffs being handed over to an officer by Stan. When Mac looked back at the two men they started laughing, Danny quietly and Hawkes more openly. Hawkes clasped Danny's shoulder.

" Never – ever – get stuck in a cave with this guy."

Mac, Stella, and Aiden exchanged bewildered looks, then Mac went around to Danny's other side, and he and Hawkes helped him to an awaiting ambulance. Mac kept looking at Danny uncertainly.

" You doing all right, Danny?"

Danny smirked. " Never better."


End file.
